Originally hailing from Washington, D.C., and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Daniel Strauss is an alumnus of the Second City Touring Company who has performed aboard the Norwegian Jewel. Strauss, currently starring in The Incomplete Guide to Everything at Up Comedy Club, can be found online at www.DanielStrauss.com and on YouTube in his web series, Game Bros.

Q: Nobody at Second City, or in any legit comedy show, comes right off the street. It seems like you have to pay your dues more than in most professions. Do you think patience is the biggest virtue for a comedian?

A: I think you have a fine line between patience and hard work. For me, patience is an element of it, but if I feel like I’m not moving forward like I want to, or things aren’t moving as quickly as I want them to, then that’s on me. It comes down to what am I not doing and what can I do to keep creating content, to keep making material and to keep pushing to make sure I’m putting myself out there and moving forward in a way that I want to be.

There are a total of nine male spots at Second City if you include the mainstage, the ETC stage and Up, and after a while, it could be like, “Hey, we love you and you’re doing a great job, but we don’t really have a spot for you right now.” And so, yeah, for that, patience is a big part of it. … Comedy and acting, as a profession, involves a whole lot of hurry up and wait.

Q: How do you think your theater background helped you in regard to your life now and at Second City?

A: Tremendously. And since I’ve gotten here, I’ve thought a lot about that and how fortunate I was to come in with that. A lot of people, when they come to the (Second City) Conservatory here, come with no theater background. Maybe they’ve done a little bit of improv at some point, or just watched a bunch of SNL or they just enjoy comedy, but for me to come in here with a background in auditioning and theater and knowing just the little things — like knowing you show up to an audition with a headshot and resume, knowing what it means to “slate” at an audition — things like that, when people see it, it works as a plus.

Additionally, having a theater background and knowing more about acting enables me to inhabit characters more. Improv, when it runs into trouble, is when you see characters having reactions that aren’t real or don’t hit home (with the audience). It happens on a subconscious level, to where it doesn’t feel like an honest reaction. And you can feel it. So I think that having a theater background and having done so many plays in the past, being able to channel that through my (sketch and improv) characters has helped me tremendously.

Q: The Second City cruise shows sound like a great experience, but I’ve heard some funny stories about life as a performer on a cruise ship from other comedians and Second City folks. What was your time like out at sea?

A: I had a great time. I was fortunate to have a cast that I got along with and people I really liked and was able to keep up with. The really big takeaway for me was that I got to do this work every week. I was improvising every week and doing sketch comedy every week. I really learned how to do it. Because going into it, I had done a lot of improv and some writing of my own stuff, but Second City is a very specific kind of work, and I hadn’t really done any of that. You really get thrown into the deep end.

You’re protected by the fact you have the great material, because the material is always great at Second City. For a comedian or an actor to go into something going “I know this material is going to work, and I know everyone is going to have a great time” is an incredible weight off your shoulders. So you know that. And then you have these improv slots, and some nights it goes great and some nights it doesn’t. But it was getting used to that feeling — that feeling of what it’s like when it goes well, what it’s like when it doesn’t go well, what am I noticing about myself. Coming back after literally doing that for four months, I mean, you’re ready to go. It got my head into a really good place.

I came back and got right into a touring group call-back (with Second City). It was like that muscle had been exercised. I could feel it, and it was really cool. But then you are away from civilization for four or five months. There’s a reason people cruise for a week, you know what I mean? It’s a strange, strange place to live. Kinda like Groundhog Day, where you keep waking up in the same place and doing the same thing for seven days. And then after seven days, a bunch of new people get on the ship and you go through the same thing all over again, where people will stop you and say, “Hey, I saw you on the show!” It was great, though, to get the practice, not have to cook for myself or make my own bed.

Q: You had to come back about 20 pounds heavier with all those buffets?

A: I did alright (laughs). I was really into working out the first three months, and then at the end, I kinda checked out. It was November at that point, and I was like, “I don’t need to worry about keeping up this great body anymore.” The buffets… you get to a point where I was so tired of the food in the buffet that I would start thinking about the buffet, and then I would be like, “You know, I think I’m just going to have some crackers.” You know? The first two or three months, don’t get me wrong. But it’s the same stuff, and it’s in warming trays and…. I remember one time we were at port, and I just wanted Burger King. It sounded really great. Burger King in Nassau. Who knows what I ate?

Q: Not to sound too cliché, like asking if you ever pinch yourself when you come to work, but do you ever have to remind yourself where you’re at? Knowing that you’re here, at Second City, walking by all the black and white photos outside, creating your own show and all the history?

A: There’s definitely moments when it hits you. It’s easy to get caught up in semantics and thinking about your career, but there are moments when you absolutely remember where you are. Especially if your parents’ friends come see the show or something. I actually had an old landlord come see the show once, and afterward he was like, “This is amazing! I can’t believe you do this. I’m just an engineer, and you get up on stage and do this!” And I was like, “Actually, I think it’s pretty impressive that you’re an engineer.”

I was here for the 50th anniversary, and that was really a moment, seeing all the living members of the SCTV cast come back. And I thought, this is real. Seeing Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell on stage was something. You have to remind yourself, this is where that happened. And this is where it continues to happen. People are still going on to do incredible things coming out of this building. And it starts to become even more surreal when it’s your friends.

I think it’s really, really important to keep reminding yourself. Because sometimes it’s easy to get down on yourself, but you have to remember where you are and the history of this place. It’s extremely humbling when you stop to think about it.

Q: My dad, no matter how many times I’ve brought him to Second City, always has to stop and look at the black and white photos of old cast members outside.

A: It’s easy to see them on the wall and (not think much about them) when you’re here every day, but if you really stop to look at them, you realize this place is something else. The history. It’s a really, really special place.

Q: How would you describe The Incomplete Guide to Everything to someone who hasn’t seen it? What do people need to know about it?

A: It’s primarily archival, so you’re getting to see some of the best sketches from the theater’s history. But they’ve also allowed us to do some writing in this show, which is really cool. So you’re going to see original pieces, and then we’ve worked with some of those older sketches and tweaked them a little bit to put our own stamp on it. And it’s just a terrific cast. To be able to work with these people… when I got the offer and saw who I was going to be working with, I was like, “This is a hell of a lineup.”

And then there’s a ton of improv in it, which is great. Getting to take the reins off and let us just goof off. Improv is always my favorite part of any show. And to have as much as we do in this one is terrific.

Q: I would imagine the archives are so great that it would be fun to go through with a highlighter and a red pen to update them a bit.

A: Yeah, it is. I mean, times have changed, and obviously there needs to be some updating to have them make sense and tweaking them to make them work now. This show, in particular, creates more of a theatrical experience than your standard archival show. It feels more like a complete show.

Q: How much of the success of a show is a direct correlation to how cohesive the cast is?

A: Oh, I would say a huge amount. I would say if you have cast members that don’t work all that well together, it comes through on stage. Some people are really good at hiding it, but I know I’ve noticed that the show always runs better when everyone is getting along. I know we’re real fortunate in that regard. The people that I’ve gotten to work with in this show are fantastic. You’ve got (Second City) touring alums, an ETC stage alum in there. For me, it’s always great to learn from everybody else in the room. At this level, that’s my biggest thing. Every experience I have, every show that I do, I want to be able to learn something from it. And to have those people in there with me, it can be great to just be a fly on the wall and see how they operate.

Q: Do you have a favorite skit or a favorite moment in the show?

A: There are two moments I really like. There’s a song that I wrote about Tinder that I really like to do. And there’s a moment of the show where we interview audience members and take their answers and turn it into a whole improvised bit that’s really fun. We find a couple and find out how they met and how well they know each other and then ask them what’s one thing that is incomplete, or something they’ve always wanted to do together, and then we take them… wherever it is we go, throwing in obstacles along the way based on their gets (answers).

The whole cast is involved, and it’s one of those things that’s like magic because we’re using every little detail of what they told us. It’s always fun, and people are usually pretty impressed by it.

Q: When was the last time you laughed really hard?

A: (Laughing) Honestly, it was in rehearsal about four days ago when we were thinking of something that could happen to you as a result of biting your fingernails a lot. And somebody came up with “nubs.” Like you would have nubs for fingers (laughs), and pretty soon another actor started working nubs into the scene a bunch. He would be like, “Hey, look at me, I’ve got nubs.” It’s funny you ask that because nubs started to appear in like every other line of the scene, and something about that made me absolutely lose my mind. … It was for a corporate gig that’s coming up with two cast members from the show, and unfortunately “nubs” didn’t make the cut for it. But something about it, “Look at me, I’ve got nubs” was just so ridiculous.

Q: Nubs didn’t make the cut? What gives?

A: No, absolutely not. It was ridiculous. I find I take a lot of pleasure in very absurd comedy. Tim and Eric on Swim TV. Tim Heidecker released an album called Yellow River Boys, an entire album about drinking piss. It’s so disgusting with these bluesy rock songs that all somehow loop back around to being about… drinking pee. Some guy played one of the songs for me and I was dying. It probably should be something high-brow that makes me laugh, but it’s not.

Q: I find a lot of times it’s not the high-brow stuff that really gets me. I find it’s usually something odd or just the dumbest stuff.

A: I think for me, working in comedy, and working so hard to craft the perfectly worded scene, the perfectly heightened joke, that sometimes when you hear something that’s just so stupid, there’s almost a level of humor in knowing that very few other people would find it funny. Because it’s just do dumb. And sometimes you come up with something that you know you could never do anything with because it’s just so dumb. But man, if you could, that would be one hell of a world. If you could get up on stage and try “nubs” and have it hit.

Q: Anyone you look up to, who forced a turn toward comedy for your career?

A: Yeah, probably Tim and Eric. When I started seeing videos and their show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job. I started seeing clips, and some of their stuff was just so weird to where I was like, I can’t get my head around that. But then some of them were so incredibly, undeniably funny. They did these TV commercial parodies that would harken back to the days of early computers and the start of the internet, where everyone didn’t really understand what these things were, but they acted like they did. … Anything Mel Brooks does. Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs as a kid, The Producers. Dave Chappelle too. I used to watch Chappelle Show every Wednesday. We used to rush home from school to watch Kids in the Hall too. Some of that stuff was so ridiculous.

Ever had the urge on a Wednesday night to learn how to hand print fabric? Or start a fashion blog but don’t know how to begin? Or maybe just take a simple sushi-making class? You’d probably never think you could sign up for all of these classes in the same place. But that would mean you’ve never heard of Dabble (www.Dabble.co).

Started in May 2011 by Erin Hopmann and Jessica Lybeck, Dabble is a website that provides lifelong students the opportunity to “dabble” in any interest at any time. It doesn’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of your time, and it’s a commitment that can be as long or short as you wish. Classes start at only $10 and range in subject from ballroom dancing to woodworking to life coaching.

Dabble offers a fun way to explore your interests without subscribing to the belief that all students should silently listen from behind desks. Classes are held nearly anywhere, in parks or businesses that have volunteered their space to Dabble.

I had the chance to chat with Hopmann to get a feel for the company and the idea. After talking a little bit about San Francisco (Hopmann just relocated there to launch Dabble on the West Coast, and I just moved to Chicago from the Bay Area), I jumped right in for some background on the company.

Q: How did the idea of Dabble start?

A: It was born from the pain point that we both shared. Here we were, adults out of formal education, but we still had the desire to take classes from time to time more along the lines of hobbies. It felt like every time we wanted to itch the scratch, we had to sign up for 12-week classes that cost $500. It was always a relatively big commitment. I was interested in getting back into art, which I used to be really into. I signed up for a printmaking class, but work ended up being really hectic at the time and I missed half the classes. Here I was giving up $500 and we were like, “Why can’t you just dabble in your interests here and there?” We launched in May, so we’re coming up on our two-year anniversary, and we really realized there’s a big opportunity for teaching. There’s really a hobbyist mentality — maybe you’re a journalist as a career, but you knit well on the side. You can teach a knitting class on a regular basis and bring in some extra income while having fun connecting with people. There’s also a more professional side for teachers who use Dabble as a kind of marketing forum. So that’s kind of the bird’s eye view of it all.

Q: For people my age, I’m in college so there are so many things that I want to try, but do I really want to spend $3,000 and 12 weeks of my time taking a class in school while I have everything else going on. It’s great that the Dabble classes offer people a chance to just try things out from time to time or pick up their old hobbies.

A: I think it’s recognizing that people, more and more today, have a lot of varied interests and access to that all, but we also are a little more ADD in the culture we live in, so it’s nice.

Q: For teachers, when you get people wanting to teach classes, what’s the application or screening process like?

A: It’s funny, this is probably the most common question we get. The submission process happens all online. It’s really self-explanatory, and we’ll help you along. We’ll tell you how to best write up a class description, and as far as vetting teachers, we don’t ask for certification or credentials. We ask for a biography that mentions the points that make you qualified and able to teach what you want to teach. On occasion, we get a red flag raised, but for the most part, people don’t want to get up in front of a class and embarrass themselves, so it works. Everything comes through us before it actually goes live, but the point here is to empower people to be teachers even if they’ve never taught before. We don’t want to put up all of these roadblocks for people who have the desire to teach. On the back end of things, we get reviews after classes happen, so if the class is poorly reviewed, which does not happen often at all, we’ll reexamine whether we want the teacher to be able to teach again.

Q: Do you notice that you have a lot of recurring teachers?

A: We do. About half our teachers have taught more than one class, and a big chunk of those have taught five or more classes. We have a number of teachers who are teaching on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

Q: It seems like a lot of the reviews are very positive for the teachers, and all of those classes fill up quickly. Is it easy to get the venues to host these classes? Are businesses quick to volunteer their services?

A: You know, we do. We sort of made it a point to source a lot of local venues that were willing to host classes in the early days because, again, the bottom line is we’re empowering people to become teachers, and even if you didn’t have a space to teach, we wanted to help you with that. We have over 600 venues in our database, but we take less of a cut of each ticket now to try to get teachers to find their own venues.

Q: What have you noticed are the most popular types of classes in Chicago?

A: You’d think this would be an easy question to answer, but it really varies. Culinary and arts classes tend to do very well, but then just as soon as we think a class won’t sell well, it goes gangbusters. For example, “Tapping Into Your Intuition 101.” Cooking classes sell really well because you’re getting a really good bargain. Even business classes have been doing well. I think the cool thing now is that there are a lot of unusual classes that you can’t find anywhere else. People are experimenting with not only what to dabble in, but teachers also use us as a platform to see if what they’re interested in teaching is going to work well. “Dr. Who 101” and things like that end up selling well! And then people have fun with that.

Q: What’s the strangest proposition for a class that you’ve gotten? Any that you just absolutely couldn’t put through to the site?

A: We’ve had some classes like “How to Become an Ordained Minister” that are just really niche that we just don’t think will sell well or go with the brand that we have. We often try to experiment, though. We’re live in Denver, and we actually have a class on how to grow marijuana. We had to wonder if it was OK to post that, but it’s going over pretty well.

Q: Oh wow! That would go over well in San Francisco, too, I’m sure. Are you looking to expand to a lot of major cities in the U.S.?

A: Definitely. We’re working on plans now, and we have 40 cities outside of the ones we’re currently in indicating interest in Dabble and submitting classes. So it’s just a little frustrating because we don’t necessarily have the resources to support it all, but the technology is there. So we’re trying to figure out how to balance both sides and make sure that we can sell out the five classes that we have in Portland.

Q: Have you noticed that you’re getting a variation of classes in the different cities just based on the unique culture and interests of each city?

A: Yeah, we certainly want to be as hyper local as we can, to show that we recognize differences in cities and markets. So far there hasn’t been a huge difference. For example, classes in Denver on barefoot running and mountain climbing are maybe more Denver than Chicago, but so far in San Francisco, all of the classes could also be held in Chicago.

Q: If you had to teach a class, what would you teach?

A: [laughs] You know, the team gives me a lot of flak because I haven’t actually taught a class yet.

Q: Have most of your team taught classes?

A: About half have, yes. … I think maybe I’d teach something about business. How to launch a start-up? We launched Dabble on WordPress 10 weeks after we had the idea, but part of me wants to teach something that doesn’t relate to the business and kind of have fun with going outside of that.

Q: I feel like you’ve given a great overview, but is there anything else you want to say about Dabble?

A: The one thing that we’re trying to do is build a community. We’ve resisted doing online classes, and we don’t quite check the box on just a pure education company because we want to have fun events where people are meeting people either for dating purposes or just to meet new people in a new city. We’re getting a lot of warm fuzzies in terms of the feedback from people. We’ve resisted some outside capital because we’re trying to grow this the way that we want to and make sure that we serve the needs of the people first. We feel pretty strongly about that.

No doubt you’ve seen the show. Unsuspecting people hail a taxi in New York City, and as they hop in, lights suddenly flash on the ceiling of the cab as the smiling driver, Ben Bailey, turns around to congratulate them and announce that they’re part of a game show in which they get to answer trivia questions for cash prizes during the drive to their desired location.

Cash Cab, though canceled by the Discovery Channel in 2012 after a seven-year run, continues its life through syndication, and Bailey, who has performed on The Tonight Show and in his own special on Comedy Central, continues his busy life as a world-traveled comedian and actor.

Bailey, who visits Chicago’s Up Comedy Club May 10-11, chatted with The Real Chicago recently to discuss his worst gigs ever, awful drivers and the difference between Chicago and New York.
For ticket information, visit www.UpComedyClub.com or www.TheRealBenBailey.com

Q: I have to tell you, my wife and her friend love Cash Cab. I’m always interested in the trivia, but they get excited about the people’s reactions when the lights go off on the ceiling.

A: You know, I had a really great time doing it. There’s a lot going on with that show, a lot to do and to remember. I’ve always been driving for a living. That part was second nature. But things will happen on the road or in the show that caused me to pull over sometimes. Especially in a city like New York.

Q: I imagine it’s hard to concentrate with some of the bad drivers out there.

A: It is insane. Awful drivers. Oblivious is the word I’d use. They’re e-mailing or texting or iChatting. You just assume they’re drunk. Instead, you get up next to them and realize, nope, they’re typing. Or maybe watching a movie while they drive.

Q: What’s the most annoying aspect of your average city driver?

A: That’s a tough question. Probably not paying attention to what they’re doing. They’ll ride right up on you and just sit there. Mindlessness. Everywhere. They get up and sit right on you. “What are you going so slow for?” “Well, maybe it’s because you came up on me going 90 when I was going 40. Ever think of that?”

Q: It was funny, earlier this week I was on vacation in the Cayman Islands, and what comes on TV when we got back to our hotel at 1 a.m.? Cash Cab. I had to tell my friends that I was interviewing you in a few days.

A: Ha, that’s funny. I’m sure they were impressed. I’ll bet you turned that shit off after five minutes (laughs).

Q: No, it was longer than that I swear. We watched it for a bit.

A: … It would be cool to open a bank account in the Caymans. But just only have to put 40 bucks in it. Then tell everyone about your Caymans account, but no one would have to know (how much is in it). That would be great.

Q: (Laughing) Yes, I guess it would. … You’ve had some odd jobs while making a name for yourself on the comedy circuit. Tell me about your days as a limo driver when you were just starting out.

A: I definitely did some of that. I remember one time there was this older couple on their way to a Harvard benefit dinner, and we started talking on the way into the city and they found out I was a comedian and that I had a show that night. And they said screw the dinner and came with me that night (laughs). They made me stop so they could go into a deli so they could get a six-pack and could party in the car before my show. Then I took them to the dinner afterward. It was just funny to see this mid-to-late 60s couple blow off their stuffy Harvard dinner to come see my show. … They had a good time that night. They went to their thing afterward and told everybody the story. They were pretty funny and were still partying, and I had to take them to get more booze on the way home after all of that. Maybe he was an alcoholic (laughs), but they sure had a good night.

Q: Can you describe the life of a comedian? What is it like out there on the road, especially now that you’re established?

A: First of all, it’s really fun. It’s a great way to make living, and I feel really lucky that I get to make money this way. You’re in a different town every week. And there’s always nice people to greet you and take care of you. It’s great. Really an awesome way to spend my life because you get to meet all kinds of cool people from all over the place, and everyone is really nice.

Q: Are they treating you a lot nicer now that you’re at the level you’re at, or has it always been that way?

A: No, it’s different now. Nobody used to give a shit about me at all (laughs).

Q: So I’m guessing you didn’t have someone waiting for you at the airport in Omaha back in 2002?

A: No, I sure didn’t. I had to get myself everywhere, and then when I’d get there, they’d be like (in bored voice), “Oh, hey.” Now they pick me up and they’re (in an excited voice) “Hey, Mr. Bailey.” It’s very different now with the car service and the nice dinners and nice hotels, but the other side of it is that I’m away from home a lot. And when all the shows are all done, it’s 1 or 2 a.m., and I’m in a hotel room somewhere — even if it’s a nice hotel room — and it’s kinda like, you know, it would be nice to be home. So there’s a little bit of a lonely road shock, I think, for everyone and at every level. Unless you’ve got a private jet and you can fly home whenever you want. … It’s great and it is glamorous, but there is that other side to it where you’re away from home a lot.

Q: Every comedian has a good story about the worst club they played or a rough crowd. Got one you’d like to share? Or one you can share?

A: Sure, the first one that comes to mind is when I once got this call on a Saturday afternoon. It pays $300, and it’s in the Poconos, which is like a three-and-a-half-hour drive from where I was living at the time. Which basically meant I had to get in the car right then and go. Someone had canceled, and it was a last-minute thing. And I was trying to get in with this (booking agent) and didn’t want to turn down the first thing they offered me, so I said sure. So I get up to the Poconos and I walk into the room, and there’s about 500 people in there, and all of them are either eight years old or younger or 70 years old or older. And I’m a New York City nightclub act — I don’t have anything I can say to these people. I’m running through my material in my head, and I don’t have a damn joke I can do with this crowd. I can’t even remember what I said (on stage), but it was awful.

Q: Was it a grandparent-grandkid retreat or something?

A: I don’t know how it ended up like that. I think it was a thing where they hired the same guy every year, or a couple of guys had done it a lot (previously). Maybe a clown. I don’t know who could have done the gig. Maybe a guy with puppets or I don’t know what. I just know I was screwed as soon as I walked through the door.

… I can’t even begin to tell you about what I was talking about up there, and then this guy stands up, this old guy, and goes (in an old man’s voice), “I’ve been coming up here for 30 years for this thing, and you are the worst performer I have ever seen!” And I said, “Well thank you very much, sir, that I just spent three and a half hours driving up here so you could tell me that.” What a nightmare (laughs). A rough gig. It was the really only bad gig I ever had where I was filling in for someone like that. The only really nightmarish gig where I ended up in a situation that was not right and I shouldn’t have been there at all. I’m sure everyone has had a gig like that where they walk in and ask, “Oh jeez, what the f—k am I doing here?”

… I’ve done a show where I had to climb on a bar, or a few without microphones or speakers. One time I had a room with like 300 people in it, and they didn’t think I would need a microphone. It was like this little amphitheater, so I figured if I spaced myself away from the crowd and talked into the back, bottom center of the big curved amphitheater, everyone could here me OK. So I did my show seated, facing the back wall so the people behind me could hear me. They were basically like, “If you don’t do the show, we can’t pay you,” so I went and found a good place to get an echo in the back and just sat there and talked to the crowd so I didn’t have to yell the whole time (laughs). That was at a college in upstate New York somewhere.

Q: So going back to your single days, do you believe the old adage where women say they’ll take a sense of humor over looks or money?

A: Yeah, I would look back more to when I was growing up (to notice women) appreciating a sense of humor. Not all of them, but it feels good to laugh, you know? Few things feel better than a real good laugh. … It definitely depends on the woman, but there’s something to it.

Q: What you like best about Chicago when you play here?

A: The crowds are always great in Chicago. I’ve never had a show where the crowd wasn’t really into it. And that’s enough all by itself. I love city, too. I don’t know it all that well, but when I’m roaming around I always enjoy it. The architecture is phenomenal, and the history — I learn a little bit more each time I go. It’s just a great city. A lot of great food, cool things to see and great crowds.

Q: I know you’re a New York guy, so I’m curious how you’d compare the two cities.

A: A lot of big cities feel pretty much the same, but New York and Chicago definitely have their own vibe. It’s interesting to me that I can get downtown (Chicago) without going through a tunnel or over a bridge. Chicago, I think it’s the people. That Midwestern mentality is different than the East Coast. New York moves at a slightly quicker pace. In Chicago, there’s always a lot of people out doing things, but it’s not quite at the insane rate New York is. And I kind a like it for that because you still have everything, it’s just not so frantic. Love the elevated trains too. They’re cool.

Q: Can you share any secrets about your upcoming show? A little preview, if you will?

A: I won’t give you a preview, but I will say that it’s completely new. My next (TV) special is in the works, and the set is very close to ready. It’s a brand-new set that I’m really enjoying doing right now. It’s a good time to come see me if people are thinking about it (laughs). Right now, I’m kind of on the cusp. The last few weeks, it’s all come together really well.

Q: What is the easiest target in comedy? The easy target in society, or the consistent thing that can always get a laugh or finish a show on a high note?

A: There are always go-to things, but as far as a big closer, my writing is all over the place. I don’t work on anything topical. I just close with whatever I love most at that time. … I tend to do a lot more improv lately because I’m trying to expand on stuff I’ve got. … Whatever comes to me as a good bit, it sticks, and that’s what I end up with. I do have a balls bit that I go to sometimes.

Q: I would imagine if you do a little improv and it’s a hit, the next week you could easily filter it into your show.

A: Yeah, I’m always looking for fodder. I do my best writing on stage. I’ll just delve into idea or something that comes up and play with it. I go into the crowd a little bit. I used to really only go into the crowd if I had to, like if they weren’t listening or were distracted or whatever. But now I like it. I go in and just play with answers they give me and end up getting some good inspiration that way. And spontaneity is tough to compete with.

Q: Agreed. Messing with that audience member who deserves it can be a beautiful thing.

A: Oh yeah. I tend to get a little carried away with that sometimes. Only for my own taste. Usually people say that was their favorite part of the whole show, but I feel bad if I really reamed the guy.

]]>http://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/05/04/we-ask-they-answer-qa-with-comedian-and-cash-cab-star-ben-bailey/feed/0A sitdown with Stephanie Izard: Mimosas and laughs with Chicago’s favorite celebrity chefhttp://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/04/24/a-sitdown-with-stephanize-izard-mimosas-and-laughs-with-chicagos-favorite-celebrity-chef/
http://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/04/24/a-sitdown-with-stephanize-izard-mimosas-and-laughs-with-chicagos-favorite-celebrity-chef/#commentsWed, 24 Apr 2013 20:18:50 +0000http://therealchicagoonline.com/?p=4417The talent behind Girl and the Goat and Little Goat provides a glimpse of what it’s like to be the most approachable celebrity chef in town

By Darcy Horath

Stephanie Izard, Chicago chef and restaurateur, was cooking in the gorgeous, well-lit second-floor kitchen of Little Goat when I arrived, but she took a break to join me for an early-morning mimosa.

Taking a break is not something the former winner of TV’s Top Chef does often. She works, on average, 14 hours a day and still manages to swim laps every single morning, work on her second book (a collection of Girl & the Goat recipes and insight into the restaurant-opening process) and come out with a new line of rubs and marinades aptly named, The Flavor.

The night before, she had hosted a dinner party for a group of Russian businessmen. “They actually drank white Russians, who knew?” she jokes. The second floor of Little Goat is available for private parties, and twice a week this summer, the rooftop patio will be open to provide one of the best skyline views in the city. Izard will also be offering cooking classes, with one significant rule. “I don’t want to teach people how to sweat onions,” she says. “I want people to be able to learn while they drink, chat and have a good time.”

Izard laughed when I called her the “Queen of Randolph Street,” but since the opening of Girl & the Goat in 2010, she has become a West Loop staple. When she was looking for restaurant sites, she began in Wicker Park, Bucktown and Logan Square — the “cool areas.” Then her partner suggested looking at the space on Randolph, and she immediately fell in love with it.

“I’m lucky to have gotten into the area as it was on the verge of blossoming, and since I live around here, I get really excited as more cool places open,” she says.

I ask if she is friendly with the other restaurants and chefs in the neighborhood.

“Yes, we all have good relationships with each other,” she admits. “The other day I sent a runner to borrow something from Next, and when he came back with a delicious little salmon snack, I thought, ‘Oh! I have to make them something!’ We have a lot of fun.”

Izard’s close relationships extend to her team as well. Recently, an employee was stressed about turning 27 because it meant he was closer to 30 than 20. When Stephanie told him, “Well, I’m closer to 40 than 30,” he replied, “Yeah, but you have a logo.” So she had a customized logo made for him to help ease him into the third decade.

Little Goat Bread, the coffee shop component of the diner, was recently named Best New Coffee Shop by popular vote in the TimeOut Chicago 2013 Eat Out Awards. Izard’s interest in coffee was epitomized by her recent trip to Colombia to visit a number of coffee farms that her partner, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, buys from. Although she got a little sore from the bumpy ride in an army regulation jeep they drove around in, she still fell in love with the country.

“All of the farms were so well-organized, and the workers all seemed to lead such happy lives,” she says. “It was amazing to see the environment the coffee beans are grown in.”

This fall, Izard will be getting married to craft-beer expert Gary Valentine at the Bridgeport Art Center. Valentine has already been working hard on the beer list. But don’t expect her to be donning an apron on the big day. She is leaving the catering in the capable hands of the “Boka Boys,” her Boka Group partners, chefs Paul Virant, Giuseppe Tentori and Chris Pandel.

“We basically just want to have a big, really fun party,” Izard says. “Our guests should walk in and have a drink and a snack in their hands.”

]]>http://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/04/24/a-sitdown-with-stephanize-izard-mimosas-and-laughs-with-chicagos-favorite-celebrity-chef/feed/0We Ask, They Answer: Q&A with Second City’s John Sabinehttp://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/03/14/we-ask-they-answer-qa-with-second-citys-john-sabine/
http://therealchicagoonline.com/2013/03/14/we-ask-they-answer-qa-with-second-citys-john-sabine/#commentsThu, 14 Mar 2013 06:51:41 +0000http://therealchicagoonline.com/?p=4213An interview with John Sabine, star of Second City’s What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You, now playing at Up Comedy Club

By Trent Modglin

We all love Chicago, but we also don’t necessarily mind making fun of our fair city, either. You know, the stereotypes, baseball’s loveable losers on the north side, shady politics, pot holes the size of a swimming pool. What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You is Second City’s hometown revue that pulls from 52 years of classic scenes and songs, lovingly making fun of Chicago along the way.

One of the stars of the show, John Sabine, like so many before him, has tirelessly worked his way up the ranks of the sketch and improv-comedy circuit, studying at Second City’s training center and performing in groups at iO and various theaters around Chicago, as well as for Second City on cruise ships, touring companies and, currently, in What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You at Up Comedy Club.

Sabine sat down with The Real Chicago to discuss inside jokes, not being that guy and how his show is an “honest assessment of a world-class city.”

Q: I know you have an acting background, but at what point in your life did you decide that making people laugh was something you wanted to do for a living?

A: It probably was very early on. In high school I was voted most likely to be a comedian.

Q: Trying to make the girls laugh?

A: Well, I went to an all-boys school (laughs), so it didn’t really matter… but I did all this theater stuff and stupid musicals in high school. I also did some improv in high school, but then in college is when it really took off. I visited Loyola here in Chicago while I was looking at colleges, and I saw a Second City show. And I think that was the seed. I remember the cast and what they did. … It was a college visit by myself, and it was my first time going to a big city. I’m from Dallas originally, and this is huge compared to Dallas. And no parents, so I think that’s when it was all planted. When I found out that Second City existed, I thought, ‘This is the coolest thing.” It itched me right where I was scratching. Oh, wait, I mean the other way around. … Plus, everyone in high school thinks they’re funny.

Q: True. A lot of times it goes beyond that for some people, even if they’re not.

A: Exactly. And I’m probably still living that delusion in life. If I were to be an egomaniac and make a timeline of my life, that (visit to Second City) would be a bullet point. That was a great memory, maybe because I was romanticizing it all.

Q: Who or where do you think you get your sense of humor from?

A: I think I get my sense of humor from my family. I come from a big Irish Catholic family, and watching all of my uncles do bits — I think I wanted to play along.

Q: Do you ever feel like when you tell people you’re a performer with Second City, they immediately want you to entertain them and make them laugh?

A: I haven’t had that happen too much. It’s more that thing with my relatives and parents where they say, “I better be careful what I say around you, or I’ll end up in your routine.” But I don’t think they understand. They should just come see a show. In Chicago though, I will say this: Even if you’re doing one show a week somewhere and you tell someone, they’re like, “Oh, really? Tell me about it,” which makes me feel like comedy is part of the city and a part of the cultural landscape. And that’s a cool feeling.

Q: And it does feel like a fraternity, at least in my experience in knowing sketch and improv comedians. Everyone knows everyone, don’t they? It’s almost incestuous.

A: It is. You see this person here and this person there. I ended up working with a guy I saw (in a Second City performance) on my college visit. And here we were, doing a show together 10 years later in Dallas for Second City. I mean, that’s crazy. I didn’t put it together until halfway through our show. I figured, what is the law of averages? And everyone here is always so nice. That’s the thing that I was most shocked about, moving to Chicago. It’s a fairly competitive landscape, but everyone looks at it like we’re all in this together, so we better make nice.

Q: I’ve seen that a lot. It’s more the stand-up comedians who seem more bitter and cynical toward each other.

A: And I don’t blame them, either, because it’s them against the world. It’s different because we’re a group of people on stage together. I mean, you can’t roll your eyes at somebody on stage and expect them to play nice. It really is a community, which is weird. Every now and then it almost feels like some sort of high school camp.

Q: Are you ever surprised with how quick the comedy is at Second City? I look around at the audience sometimes and wonder if we’re catching just a percentage of the humor.

A: I am. Some people just seem to have a mutant power. Their brain just goes so fast. The audience always surprises me. No, surprise is the wrong word there because I always think these (audience members) are people who are like doctors and lawyers, so why wouldn’t they be able to keep up? They’re probably professionals with real jobs. We’ve got to give them credit because they’re right on board. … They know it’s not a movie, they know it’s interactive and they’ve got to be on their toes.

Q: For somebody who hasn’t seen the show, what can you tell them about What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You? There’s a lot of inside jokes, the stigma of Chicago politics and things that maybe some folks from Southern California wouldn’t quite get.

A: It does a good job of making people who know Chicago intimately laugh. Stuff you would only know. One of the first scenes is about the different neighborhoods and their stereotypes. My parents have never lived here, but they’ll get the joke structure. You’ll laugh. Some of the problems that Chicago is dealing with are very similar to the problems other cities are dealing with too. The specifics might change, but it does a good job of introducing out-of-towners to Chicago. And people from Chicago really seem to get it and like it, which is an added bonus. And then we get to improvise, and when we’ve asked for (ideas to get started), we can sometimes get some really, really deep cuts.

Q: What is the most exciting thing about Second City and improv, and also the most intimidating?

A: For me, it’s almost the same answer. The most exciting thing is the people you work with. My cast is made up of people I looked up to. And they’re not old, it’s just that I feel very lucky to be able to do a show with them. But at the same time, coming into a show, I felt very intimidated because you respect them so much.

Q: Like you hope you can just keep pace. Not to short-change you in any way…

A: (Laughs) No, please, short-change away. But you’re right. You want to make sure you don’t affect the show in a negative way because they’re already on this certain level. Whenever I’m asked what the best part of working here is, I always say I get to work with these great people. They’re very talented, and some are getting pulled off to do different mainstage shows or TV. … And that’s how the system works. But honestly, I was scared to death the first couple weeks, just trying to keep up. I didn’t want to be that guy. You never want to be that guy. In any situation. But here, it’s more public if you’re in front of 250 people and you’re that guy.

Q: You mentioned you didn’t get to write the Second City show you did in Dallas, and you joined this current show after it was already up and running, so are you looking forward to the whole experience of writing a new revue down the road?

A: I am. When you do the Second City training center, they teach you that. They teach you how to write a Second City revue show. But then you have to wait awhile to use that skill. You can always use it at other theaters, and a lot of our people have secondary jobs where they’re writers, but that’s always the goal to be able to do a process. Just a cool, unique experience where you start at nothing, and in a few months you’ve written a show with six people, some you may know and some you don’t.

Q: Well, you’ll definitely know them pretty well at the end of the writing process I’m guessing.

A: It’s like a Band of Brothers type thing. And that just seems like the dream. The Second City writing process feels like justice in a weird way where you get to talk about what’s happening right now and hopefully in an intelligent and funny way. And it’s all kind of mysterious, too, which is fun. It’s not like there’s a reality show out there that teaches you how to (write a show).

Q: You’ve done a lot of things in a little more than four years in Chicago.

A: Yeah, I’ve done a lot of shows at iO, The Playground, this new, great theater called the Upstairs Gallery, which is a lot of fun to be around. I just did a lot of that, and then auditioned here a couple of times, then a couple more times, just trying to not mess up. It’s been great to be part of this show because, well, it’s regular and it’s fun. Sometimes shows feel like work, and this doesn’t feel like work. This feels like fun. The house is always full and great. And it’s a unique situation where you’re like, “I get to do a show in front of all these people today.” In Chicago, sometimes you get 10 people in the audience at some of these places and you’re like, “Yes!” (pumps his fist)

Q: What makes Second City special?

A: The performance has the integrity of a theater, but the audience informs the night. You get to be an active participant because it’s live. It’s very live. It’s not, like, theater in a vacuum. It’s a participatory conversation between the audience and the actors on stage. It’s just the coolest, and there are not many places on earth where you can see something like this, where you can sit and watch what happens on stage but also participate where everyone’s on the same team. And that’s what is really cool about Second City.

Q: And the audience is that extra member, as if you feel like they’re with you.

A: You create inside jokes. The Second City, every night, creates inside jokes with that audience. The audience will leave and try to explain something funny to their friends about something they heard at the show, and you can’t explain it. We’re all seeing the same things (during a show), and we’re all listening to each other. It’s a two-way experience, and everything else is one-way.

Q: What is it that makes you laugh? Do you have anybody you look up to in the comedy business?

A: Right now, almost anything that is happening at the Upstairs Gallery in Andersonville makes me laugh. That place is really the best. With regards to the people who I look up to, it changes all the time. Chicago is wonderful because you can admire and look up to peers.

Q: Final last words about What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You?

A: A great homage to Chicago. A fun, lively one. It grasps what Chicago is right now in 2013. For people who aren’t familiar with our city, as an introduction, it’s like, “Here’s our city. We love our city.” And it’s great for people who do live here because it’s like “Here’s our city. We love our city, just like you love our city.” We see it through the same eyes, and it’s going to be an honest assessment of a world-class city.

Q: Why do you think Chicago is so easy to make fun of?

A: I think Chicago is so easy to make fun because it is a hard-working city, and when people work hard, they need a good laugh, and what better (subject) than the city they work in? Chicagoans have a great sense of humor.